Local health committees come together to prevent dengue and leptospirosis – Ministry of Public Health

2023-06-09 03:13:50

Guayaquil, June 8, 2023

With the objective of promoting the empowerment of the community and citizens to mitigate the effects of the El Niño phenomenon, the Minister of Health, José Ruales, held a meeting with the representatives of the Local Health Committees of this city.

Due to the intensity of the rains, 191 cantons of the country have been affected so far this year. According to climate forecasts, the El Niño phenomenon could occur during the second half of 2023.

For this reason, the National Health Authority presented the strategy prepared by the Ministry of Public Health (MSP) in the event of this event of climatic origin that originates from the warming of the equatorial eastern Pacific Ocean.

The dialogue took place at the Casitas del Guasmo Community House, and was attended by 50 members of Local Health Committees belonging to the southern area of ​​Guayaquil. “The most important thing for us is that each individual become a health watchdog and help us identify cases of people who have symptoms or are sick,” said Minister Ruales.

The reports of epidemiological surveillance of respiratory viruses, dengue and leptospirosis were also released.

“This type of approach with the health minister is very important, so that the community is prepared to face the El Niño phenomenon and to protect the family,” said citizen Edgar Ortiz.

Among the preventive community actions promoted by the MSP are:

• Eliminate containers with water and if you have them, wash them periodically.
• Use repellents and mosquito nets.
• Adequate waste disposal and rodent control in coordination with the GAD.
• Avoid exposure to the urine of infected animals, especially rodents.
• Wear rubber gloves and boots when working in areas where the presence of leptospira bacteria is suspected.
• Cleaning of water reservoirs suitable for human consumption.
• Detection and notification of risk factors for diseases caused by mosquitoes (vectors) such as Zika, dengue and chikungunya; as well as poisoning caused by poisonous and poisonous animals such as snakes and scorpions.
• Improve personal and community hygiene in areas with high infection rates, promoting regular cleaning and disinfection of work and living areas, as well as education on personal hygiene measures such as frequent hand washing.
• Do not self-medicate and in case of fever go immediately to a nearest Health Center